Olean is a city of 17,100 in Cattaraugus County, about 40 miles east of downtown Jamestown · Updated November 2026
Is Olean, NY safe?
Yes, crime in Olean is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Olean sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 44% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Olean run from A+ to B-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 806 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
44% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Olean as a whole, and 56% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Olean scores 806.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Olean, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Olean, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Olean
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Olean runs 69% above the US rate, but car thefts run at a small fraction of that rate: 0.68 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. Olean has 0.79 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13.
The safest and least safe parts of Olean
Every part of Olean where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Olean run from A+ to B-; 19% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Olean, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Olean?
Reported violent crime in Olean peaked in 2022 and has fallen 18% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 64% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.2 to 3.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 21 to 35 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
OleanUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Olean. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Olean
Violent, US
Property, Olean
Property, US
2016
-4%
+4%
+34%
+15%
2017
-32%
+4%
+21%
+12%
2018
-3%
+0%
+29%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-48%
+4%
-21%
-8%
2021
+5%
+6%
+14%
-10%
2022
+27%
+5%
+37%
-6%
2023
+1%
+2%
+47%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
+64%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Olean
CrimeGrade™ estimates Olean has about 63 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 69% more than the US as a whole and 57% more than New York.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 44% of crime reported in Olean. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Olean
Olean has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Olean, 41% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Other places (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Two things set Olean apart: it has 19.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 11.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.19.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.11.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 51% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (36 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Olean: F (2 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.61 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.80% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Olean on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Olean
Crime costs Olean about $1,122 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 7% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $17 million a year, or $1,020 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$470,000
$28
Rape
$240,000
$14
Robbery
$420,000
$25
Assault
$3.2 million
$185
Burglary
$420,000
$24
Theft
$2.4 million
$140
Vehicle theft
$180,000
$11
Arson
$47,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.3 million
$79
Total
$8.7 million
$508
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Olean means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Olean, NY average a SchoolGrade of B-: 58% of students test proficient, against 57% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Olean on SchoolGrade
